1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a flight simulation apparatus and, more specifically, to a flight simulation apparatus in which various forms of flight simulation training can be carried out by changing the arrangement of pilot seats.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Flight simulation is aimed at pilot training, boarding experiences, or the like for aircraft, such as airplanes, fighter planes, helicopters, etc., and is configured to simulate virtual flight conditions. Equipment or computer software made for that purpose is called a flight simulator.
Flight simulators need to provide a sense of reality similar to a cockpit in order to maximize effects of training. To this end, flight simulators are manufactured in similar shapes to cockpits according to the types of aircraft and have various types of mission equipment, instruments, and air-borne equipment that are mounted thereon.
Examples of equipment for which flight training is required in our military include UH-1H that is a mobile helicopter aimed at supporting troop and material transports, UH-60 (Black Hawk) that is a multi-purpose helicopter with a twin turbine engine and a single engine rotor (propeller) and may be used in various military operations, including tactical transport of infantry, electronic warfare, or as an ambulance helicopter, Bo-105 that is an attack and reconnaissance helicopter with a light twin engine that has been developed by Bolkow in Stuttgart, Germany, CH-47 (Chinook) that is a representative mobile helicopter that is famous for having an unusual shape in which two main rotors are arranged in front and back and is operated for the airlifting of troops and materials, 500MD that is a light attack helicopter developed by Hughes in U.S.A., AH-1S (Cobra) that is a main attack helicopter of the Army, and the like.
For flight simulations of various types of helicopters, simulators may be manufactured and used according to the types of helicopters. However, in this case, manufacturing costs for the simulators increase, and additional equipment for operating the simulators are increased and occupy much space. Therefore, a device is required to make it possible to carry out pilot training for various types of helicopters through a single simulator.
In order to implement various types of helicopters, it is necessary to change instruments and air-borne equipment according to the types of helicopters, and it is required to change the arrangement of pilot seats. For example, UH-1H has pilot seats that are arranged in a left-right direction, whereas AH-1S has pilot seats that are arranged in a front-rear direction. Accordingly, in order to carry out pilot training for UH-1H and AH-1S through a single simulator, the arrangement of pilot seats has to be effectively changed.
Although an attempt is made to change the arrangement of pilot seats in a flight simulator in the related art, the range of motion of an apparatus for implementing that is so limited that the apparatus is not suitable for pilot training for various types of helicopters, and it is difficult to stably support the pilot seats so that effective pilot training cannot be expected. Particularly, these days, flight simulators are made to apply shock and vibration for realistic training according to conditions when the flight simulators are used. However, the unstable support of variable pilot seats may interrupt the training or may make it impossible.